Archives for August 2016

Dr. Holly Sienkiewicz (Center for New North Carolinians) received new funding from the United Way of Greater Greensboro for the project “Newcomers CLASS (Culture, Language and Adult Self Sufficiency).” For newly arrived refugees into Greensboro, language, transportation, isolation, lack of cultural brokers, and misunderstanding/lack of knowledge of American education and cultural activities present an ongoing concern as refugees seek to orient to the United States, the abstract states. The objective of this project is to help newly arrived immigrants manage their transition and begin the process of cultural integration by learning English, providing job readiness skills for adults and acting as a cultural broker.

Two web sites have rated UNCG’s online Master’s of Education in Early Childhood Education program among the nation’s best.

UNCG’s Birth-Kindergarten Interdisciplinary Studies in Education and Development (BKISED) program is ranked second in the country among online Master’s of Education in Early Childhood Education programs. The ranking, conducted by The Best Schools, is based according to their web site on academic excellence, classes available in the program, the strength of the faculty, consideration of other program rankings, and indicators of the program’s reputation. The BKISED master’s program is jointly administered by the UNCG departments of Specialized Education Services and Human Development & Family Studies. See the website for further information about this ranking.

Another web site put them no. 8 nationally.

Best College Values (bestcollegevalues.com), an online resource that helps students find reputable and affordable degree programs, has this to say in their 2016 ranking of online Master’s of Education in Early Childhood Education:

“The (UNCG) online Master of Education in Birth-Kindergarten Interdisciplinary Studies in Education and Development degree program prepares students to assume leadership roles in diverse settings (both education and community-based) that develop and implement programming for young children with and without disabilities, ages birth to five, and their families,” the web site says. “This degree is a fully online synchronous program with classes meeting online using web cameras and microphones. … Experienced and committed faculty members from the Departments of Human Development and Family Studies and Specialized Education Services teach, advise, and mentor students through this innovative course of study. There are two areas of emphasis – one on Early Childhood Leadership & Program Administration and another on Early Childhood Leadership & Advanced Teaching Licensure.”

The UNCG Summer Music Camp, held July 10-22, is known as “America’s Most Popular” – and this summer it showed once again why it’s earned that term. Nearly 2,000 middle and high school students – hailing from 20 states, Mexico, India and China – attended last month. Provost Dana Dunn and founding director Dr. John Locke spoke to all the students and concert attendees at the end of each week, inviting them to learn more about the many excellent programs at UNCG. See related story about the camp at UNCG Now.

Keith Gorman, assistant dean for Special Collections and University Archives, received the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) EZ Literacy and Lifelong Learning Grant for the 2015 – 16 academic year.

Gorman said the grant went towards training Graduate students to design a curriculum with collections and archived materials. The curriculum brought collections and instruction to middle and high school students in four counties surrounding Greensboro (Guilford, Forsyth, Alamance and Rockingham). Gorman and a UNCG graduate student taught 35 classes and met with 1150 students.

The classes are designed to use both digital and analog primary sources to empower students with skills relevant in the modern workplace. Placing the sources into context, using effective strategies to access and analyze online resources are important research tools that Gorman hopes to offer students and teachers.

“Critical thinking and analyzing information is essential to everyone’s professional success,” said Gorman. “I want to give these students a glimpse of the experience most university students experience in an information literacy and research methods class – I stress that they will have a leg up on their classmates.”

While the LSTA Grant has been completed, UNCG Libraries continues to support Gorman’s program. For the upcoming 2016-17 year, Gorman will focus on schools in Guilford County.

Email Keith Gorman at k_gorman@uncg.edu for more information or to learn how you can submit an application for an archival-based research class.

The Weatherspoon Art Museum hosts “Matisse Drawings: Curated by Ellsworth Kelly” through Sept. 18. The exhibition features a collection of Henri Matisse’s sketches and drawings curated by American artist Ellsworth Kelly.

“Matisse Drawings: Curated by Ellsworth Kelly from The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation Collection” provides the unique opportunity to view the work of a modern master through the eyes of one of the greatest abstract artists of the twentieth century. Through a selection of 45 works, Ellsworth Kelly surveys Henri Matisse’s drawings from 1900 through 1950—from sketches to finished pieces—and reveals Matisse’s process and creativity as a draftsman. Matisse Drawings: Curated by Ellsworth Kelly from The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation Collection is organized by the American Federation of Arts and the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum in collaboration with The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation.

To accompany Matisse’s drawings, nine works from Kelly’s own Suite of Plant Lithographs (1964–66) will be shown in an adjacent gallery in an exhibition entitled Plant Lithographs by Ellsworth Kelly 1964-1966. The coupling suggests both the sympathies and distinct differences between the two artists.

The two exhibitions were presented at the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum (August–December 2014). After the only Southeast appearance at the Weatherspoon Art Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina (June 25–September 18, 2016), the tour continues to the Katonah Museum of Art, in Katonah, New York (October 23, 2016–January 29, 2017), the Audain Art Museum, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada (February 24–May 21, 2017), and the University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, Michigan (November 18, 2017–February 18, 2018).

UNCG is committed to providing employment opportunities associated with the construction of the Spartan Village Student Housing Phase II Project to surrounding residents. As such, UNCG is sponsoring a job fair on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2016, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club Gymnasium at 840 Neal Street. Representatives are expected to be on hand from many companies.